Jim Avalos Steps

Up to the Plate

A desire to help others drives this Selma City Council member as he assists dialysis patients,

the Boy Scouts and his fellow Union members

Jim Avalos, Assistant Manager/Meat Cutter at Save Mart 58 in Selma, believes that “when people need help, you step up to the plate.”

     He has put that belief into action in several areas of his life, most recently when he heard that 67 local dialysis patients needed funds to buy chickens so they could have a high-protein meal for Christmas.

   “My wife used to work at the

kidney dialysis clinic,” Avalos said.

“She was contacted by a friend of

hers and asked if she knew where the facility could obtain donations to pay for the dinner. It’s important that

people undergoing dialysis eat high

protein foods.”

   The clinic didn’t have to look far.

Avalos paid for the chickens out of

his own pocket. They were delivered

on the Tuesday before the holiday.

Demonstrating the same spirit of

volunteerism that drives Avalos’

involvement in public life, UFCW

members and leaders worked

tirelessly to help elect him to the

Selma City Council. He has been in

office for two years. It’s his first

elective political office.

   “I am grateful for the Union’s help in attaining this office,” he said. “I ran for the Selma City Council

because I want to help create more

good Union jobs in our area. Good-paying jobs help everyone.

   Tax revenues go up and the city then has more money available to improve its infrastructure.

   “Low paying non-Union jobs, such

as those at Wal-Mart, not only hurt

the worker, they put a big dent in the tax base. Workers pay less taxes on their lower incomes, and because they have inferior or no health insurance, they often must use publicly-funded programs for their health care.”

   Avalos’ dedication to public

service also extends to his local Boy

Scout troop, which he serves as an

Assistant Scoutmaster.

   “My son benefited from being in

the Scouts,” he said. “I was a Cub

Scout myself, so I felt I should give

something back to the organization.”

Avalos began working in the

industry in 1978 at Save Mart 18 in

Fresno and has worked at other stores over the years. He became active in the Union more than 11 years ago.

   “I decided that it was time to get

involved,” he said. “The past several years have seen good Union jobs exported overseas and Union membership decrease.

   It’s everyone’s responsibility to do whatever they can do to change that.”

Avalos and his wife Lorane have four grown children. He knows firsthand

how important Union benefits are for a family. But something he recently observed at a local Rite Aid reinforced his understanding of the value of good health insurance.

   “I was in line at the pharmacy waiting to pickup a prescription,” Avalos said. “The elderly man in front of me was waiting to get four different prescriptions that he said

were for his heart. “It was obvious that he had no insurance, because when he heard

their combined cost, which was several hundred dollars, he decided he could only afford one of them.

   That drove home how thankful all of

us in the Union should be that we have the benefits we have.”